This season, we opted to do things a bit differently – as we have with just about every other regular feature we do each season, since the format is a bit wacky, to say the least 😛 First, we’ve divided WWIB into two parts – mainly to accomodate the fact that Kirstie & Maks’ and the 13th couple’s (who we now know to be Sabrina & Louis) promo photos have yet to be released, but also to buy us some time for the labor-intensive task of finding good pictures for some of these 🙂 Secondly, we’ve included the couples’ promo photos from their original seasons for comparison as well. But as always, we’ve offered up our usual snark commentary on each of the costumes, for your enjoyment 😎

Courtney: The Iceman cometh! Wow, even Alec’s promo pic screams “I have no emotions” to me. And while Kelly is a bit better, I still wish she’d actually smile in her promo pics – the whole “smoldery non-smile” she does just seems like she’s trying too hard to me. And I’m probably the only one that feels this way, judging from some of everyone’s initial comments on the promo photos, but I’m not really all that wild about Kelly & Val’s pic…you’ll see I’m not much of a fan of the couples that went the “smoldery” route with their promo pix. As for the costume itself – gotta go with Edyta on this one. Granted, it’s hard to hold a candle to Edyta in pretty much ANY costume, but I think I like it better with a lace skirt, as opposed to a fringed one. And while I was cursing under my breath while putting this edition together about how BAD some of the costumes have gotten since Randall left, I thank my lucky stars we’re not still stuck with Designs to Shine, who costumed the first season. Can we say “tacky”? 😯

Heidi: Val sez, “You…are sooo sexy.” To which Kelly sez, “You are sexy, but I am sleeping with my cousin’s best friend’s husband’s brother and am simply toying with you as a cover to hide our true looove….” That is my long winded way of saying, Kelly is a soap actress…they only do smolder. Sometimes well, sometimes not – and Val is a huge step up from Alec in terms of emotion and Kelly has evolved to smoldering with her mouth *closed*. 🙂 The dress you ask? I go with Edyta sans fishnets. Although I think it’s cuter in the shorter length.

For anyone hoping Melissa Joan Hart might be dancing in the new all star season of Dancing With The Stars, sorry, it’s not going to happen. She’ll be having a baby soon and she says she didn’t have he best time when she danced before. She talked of how hard it is and it’s like a political campaign. More below from Access Hollywood….

I'm a fashion and music fan....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. One of my favorite dancing quotes at the moment: "No matter what, nobody can take away the dance you've already had...." ~Gleb Savchenko . For fun music and dance mixes, visit WilUnleashed Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

So we’re less than 24 hours away from finding out who is and isn’t part of this season’s cast. Who’s pumped??? I know I am…but we’ve still got a few hours left to speculate, so let’s see what other cast types we’ve to fill this season, shall we? 😉 For those of you that may have missed it, check out part I as well.

Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.

Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting. They’ve also got to contend with the large middle-aged female contingent of viewers/voters – they far outnumber the young viewers likely to vote for them.

Possible candidates this season: There’s that random Nicole Anderson chick that’s a friend of Chelsea Kane’s, and Heidi found some compelling evidence that rapper Darnell Robinson may be participating this season.

Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).

Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.

Possible candidates this season: This category seems to have EXPLODED with possibilities this season – the most solid of which being Sherri Shepherd, who was caught leaving the DWTS studio the other day. I’m still wondering if someone fr0m GMA is part of the cast this season, since they all seemed to act so coy when announcing they’d be revealing the cast. And then we have the Maria Menounos rumor as well.

Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.

Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.

Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.

Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show when she was on DWTS, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless(*cough*JakePavelka*cough*) – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.

Possible candidates this season: Lots of talk about Ali Fedotowsky, who suspiciously moved to LA last week.

Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing…as we saw with Bristol in season 11!

Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name. There’s also the risk of backlash from some viewers who don’t think they’re “stars” per se, and shouldn’t even be on the show in the first place.

This is a very good question :-), but unfortunately one that required a bit of research on my part…so please bear with me as I give you guys a brief history/background of the swing dances.

First things first: all of the above dances are related, and evolved from one another, so that’s why they all look so similar to the naked eye. Even I often have a hard time discerning between them, especially within the context of DWTS, where I think sometimes even the pros themselves aren’t quite sure about some of these dances – especially the Jitterbug & Lindy Hop. The lines between them are very blurred, because there’s often a lot of overlap in terms of steps, timing, & styling.

Charleston was the earliest of the swing dances, originating in the speakeasies during the 1920’s, and is usually associated with the “flappers”, who danced it alone or with each other to mock the “drys” – people who supported Prohibition. At the time, it was considered to be a pretty provocative dance. It has a bouncy feel to it, and the basic step does have the backward rock-step characteristic to almost all of the swing dances. Here’s a good example of some other Charleston steps – note how it also has some twisting movements, high kicks, and very jazzy arm styling. The music was a swing beat, with perhaps a bit more of a ragtime feel than other swing styles to follow – think “Hot Honey Rag” from Chicago. These days, it more often lends steps to jive & quickstep, rather than being danced as its own, exclusive dance – my boyfriend’s studio doesn’t have an official Charleston syllabus (just not enough steps), but he does often incorporate Charleston steps into other dances. One example many of you may have noticed is that funky leg flick that the pros often add to their quickstep routines – Mark does it at about the :55 mark of he & Chelsea’s quickstep. Yep, Charleston moves fit Mark’s jimmie legs perfectly 🙂 Which is probably why he & Melissa’s Charleston in season 9 sticks out to me as the best representation of the dance on the show – it has the characteristic steps, and they stuck with the 1920’s flapper theme.

Out of the Charleston came the Lindy Hop, which had its heyday in the big band era of the late 1920’s-40’s. It was a product of the Harlem Renaissance, and was born in traditionally black clubs like The Savoy & Cotton Club in New York. Its footwork was similar to the Charleston, but it had elements of other vernacular/folk dances (such as the cakewalk and Texas Tommy) and also included a breakaway/throwaway step, which allowed the couples dancing it to do more open work than in the Charleston. It was also quite a bit more daring – when wealthy white patrons descended upon Harlem clubs to watch the black dancers, the dancers themselves upped the ante, and began doing increasingly more dangerous & eye-catching lifts, flips, and tricks (“air steps” or “aerials”) to entertain them. This often resulted in the dancers being hired to perform or teach Lindy Hop to the patrons. I would say it’s definitely the “showiest” of all the swing dances, due to all the tricks that have come to be standard fare in the Lindy – and with the pros on DWTS, nothing seems to scream “Lindy!” more than some crazy lifts. In terms of said lifts, I would say that Melissa & Tony’s Lindy in season 8 is the best example; but in terms of overall “feel” (and good use of basic steps), I’d say that Ty & Chelsie’s Lindy is the best example. Read more..

This is going to be quick, not much commentary, just the facts. Or rather, the videos. I’ve found myself much busier than I plan to be… But, to get us ready for the fun Group Dance, I’m searching for the videos of the group dances from past seasons. When possible, I’ll post the practice sessions, also.

So with each hour closer to the cast announcement that we get, we seem to be getting more and more leaks of who’s in – the next 24 hours will definitely be the time to stay tuned to PureDWTS, as we’ll be posting any potential last minute leaks as soon as we hear them! I dunno about you guys, but I’m getting excited…so let’s take a look at who else we might expect to see, based on casting patterns 😉

Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.

Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting. They’ve also got to contend with the large middle-aged female contingent of viewers/voters – they far outnumber the young viewers likely to vote for them.

Possible candidates this season: Now that the Candace Cameron-Bure rumor seems to have died down, it looks like we’re going to be seeing former child starKim Richards, also of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame…maybe she’s doing double-duty as the reality star this season, too!

Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).

Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.

Possible candidates this season: I’ve started preparing myself to watch Nancy Grace try to hoof it this season, though I can’t say I’m even the tiniest bit excited about it. Someone hosts I’d rather see? Craig Ferguson or Ricki Lake – the former is just hilarious, and the latter might actually be pretty good due to her Broadway background.

Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.

Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.

Possible candidates this season: I think it’s safe to say David Arquette is a lock. There’s been a couple of murmurs about Henry Winkler as well, and I’m still wondering if Lorenzo Lamas is gonna crop up, after all the talking he did last season.

Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.

Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show when she was on DWTS, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless(*cough*JakePavelka*cough*) – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.

Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing…as we saw with Bristol last season!

Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name. There’s also the risk of backlash from some viewers who don’t think they’re “stars” per se, and shouldn’t even be on the show in the first place.

So we’re mere hours away from the official announcement, gang – who do you think is in and who do you think is just wishful thinking? Be sure to check back here for Heidi’s Casting Announcement Live Blog starting at 8 PM EST tomorrow night …she (and the rest of us) suffer through Bachelor Pad so you don’t have to! And make sure you’re following @puredwts & @tvblog on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on who’s in!

In part one of my typecasting analysis, we took a look at who we might get from the Olympian, athlete, model, comedian, legend, & soap star categories. Now let’s take a look at the other 6 categories and speculate on who else we might see before tonight’s cast announcement!

EDITOR’S NOTE: The site is getting hit with an extraordinary amount of hits right now (which is great! :-D) but it’s also slowing us bloggers down while we post – hence, there are no links in this edition because it’s just taking too long to add them all in. However, you can access all of the DWTS casting rumors in Vogue’s post from the other day if you need a refresher on some of these 🙂

Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.

Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting.

Possible candidates this season: I think the Lindsay Lohan rumor has been almost completely shot down, but Full House fans have been campaigning for both Jodie Sweetin & Candace Cameron Bure in the online voting. I’ve also seen a surge of support within the past few days for New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight to do the show.

Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).

Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.

Possible candidates this season: Wendy Williams name has been repeated quite a bit, although Joan Rivers’ name was out there for awhile as a possible contestant.

Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.

Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.

Possible candidates this season: Lorenzo Lamas has been claiming he’s on the casting “short list” for weeks now, so we’re thinking he’s a lock.

Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.

Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.

Possible candidates this season: Aside from the omnipresent Heidi Montag rumor and ridiculous rumors about both NeNe Leakes & Kim Zolciak from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, we’ve also heard of former Idol contestant Danny Gokey gunning for a spot.

Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing…as we saw with Bristol last season!

Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name. There’s also the risk of backlash from some viewers who don’t think they’re “stars” per se, and shouldn’t even be on the show in the first place.

Possible candidates this season: Not sure if it was the hailstorm of controversy from Bristol last season or what, but this category was booming with rumors this season – everyone from Tony Robbins to Christine O’Donnell to Al Sharpton to Brooke Mueller. Will any of them actually do the show? That remains to be seen.

So we’re mere hours away from the official announcement, gang – who do you think is in and who do you think is just wishful thinking? Be sure to check back here for Heidi’s Casting Announcement Live Blog starting at 8 PM EST…she (and the rest of us) suffer through The Bachelor so you don’t have to 🙂 And make sure you’re following @puredwts & @tvblog on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on who’s in!

So apparently I might be onto something with my typecasting theories, because it seems like a lot of you are also trying to deduce from the absolutely CRAZY amount of rumors flying around who might be fulfilling each type…and honestly, at this point, I have no clue what to believe 😛 But that’s the fun of DWTS, right?

If the majority of what’s being reported is true (doubtful), then it looks to me like they might actually skip some types this season (haven’t heard any major reports about soap stars or hosts); but if they’re leaking only a few actual celeb participants and the rest are red herrings, then we might get few suprises thrown in and have a more “well-rounded” cast. But enough general speculation – on with the rest of the types!

Advantages: If sales of Tiger Beat are any indicator, the teenyboppers will come out in full force to support their favorite heartthrobs/idols. Being young & good-lookin’ sure doesn’t hurt! Many also have the added advantage of having a decent dance background, especially if they were part of a musical act.

Disadvantages: Youth can also have its disadvantages – as in immaturity. What some might call “youthful exuberance”, others might call “immaturity” or “attention deficit disorder” – poor Cody Linley had a hard time sitting still! Emotional immaturity (a la Aaron Carter’s post-rumba meltdown in the confessional) can be especially off-putting.

Advantages: Being that they’ve been at the helm of their own shows, these guys usually have the media savvy & charisma to appeal to the masses, as well as the previous exposure & recognizability. Most (not all!) are also decently attractive, which never seems to hurt (unless, of course, you’re a model – see previous post for explanation).

Disadvantages: Many hosts are only used to hosting – as in just sitting down & talking (or dodging the occasional punch, if you’re Springer), so the lack of movement experience problem seems to come into play.

Possible candidates this season:Chris Jericho also hosts some show on NBC, so I guess he could do double-duty and fulfill the role of both the athlete and the host.

Advantages: Being that their bread & butter is acting, most can usually nail the emotions of the dances. Bonus points if they’ve done any Broadway (like Winokur) because they have likely had dance experience.

Disadvantages: For lack of a better term, many of them seem to be “has-beens” – actors that haven’t been particularly active in the mainstream in the past several years – or were never that big to begin with (can anyone else think of anything John O’Hurley has been in BESIDES Seinfeld?), making it harder for them to garner votes from a public who may not remember them.

Advantages: Many have achieved pop culture icon status on their respective reality outlets, making them fairly recognizable.

Disadvantages: They may be memorable for the wrong reasons – people tended to remember things like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape more than her reality show, and people seemed more focused on Holly Madison’s split from Hef than her antics on The Girls Next Door. Many can also come across as attention-hungry & talentless – reality TV is often looked down upon as a way to get famous without having any talent whatsoever.

Advantages: As with the teen idols, many have had dance experience concurrent with their music careers.

Disadvantages: Most seem to be committed solely to one genre of music (often R&B or country), making it hard to appeal to a wide fanbase.

Possible candidates this season: Most obvious choice? Michael Bolton. But in the same token, you could also have Brandy and/or David Hasselhoff fulfilling this role if they’re trying to kill 2 birds with one stone. The Xzibit rumor is still lingering slightly, and Pete Wentz fans are still holding out hope.

Advantages: The sheer novelty of having someone with such an off-the-beaten-path claim to fame (famous divorcee/widow, entrepreneur, disgraced politician, etc.) may be enough to have the public voting them – just to see what happens. Being the “underdog” is a powerful thing!

Disadvantages: Due to their often dubious fame, people just may not have any clue who they are – I personally had to Google Mark Cuban’s name.

Possible candidates this season: Can it get much wild card-ier than Bristol Palin?! Good grief…still trying to wrap my brain around how they’re going to try and spin her claim to fame…

Did you miss part I of my typecasting of season 11? Check it out here. Feeling nostalgic? Check out parts I & II of my typecasting of season 10, and see how everything stacked up 😉

On a side note, we have to give a very special thanks to our friend Marcela, who frequents this site all the way from Brazil! Marcela was kind enough to share with us many dittoes that she had found, and even sent us side-by-side pictures of them. Marcela, here’s a big “Obrigado!” from all of us here at Pure DWTS…you rock! 😀

Battle of the black & white floral-print ballgown: Brooke’s quickstep with Derek in season 7 vs. Cheryl in the pro dance to Michael Buble in season 9

Courtney: Hmmmm. I’m not hugely fond of this dress, so I think it’s making it hard for me to figure out who it looks better on. I think it probably suits Brooke’s body a bit better (surprise, surprise…that woman could make a burlap sack look good!), but I’m not a fan of the severely pulled-back side bun hair they gave her. I think it doesn’t suit Cheryl’s body quite as well, but I think her loose, carefree hair & hoop earrings better suit the breezy feel of the dress. I dunno…I’m defaulting to Heidi.

Heidi: Does liking Brooke’s partner better count?? 🙂 Seriously though, look at both of the men – I think you’ll note that the men’s outfits match the hairstyles on the ladies. They made Brooke much more formal, to complement Derek’s dinner jacket and bow tie and slick hair, whereas Cheryl’s hair is more loose and flowy which compliments Jonathan’s lack of jacket and undone bow tie. BOTH couples are very finished, for what they are trying to portray.

The winner: Have to call it a draw for two complete ensembles – men included. 😉

Battle of the gold-fringe Latin dress: Chelsie’s salsa with Ty in season 8 vs. Nicole’s jive with Derek in the season 10 finale

Heidi: Derek and Nicole’s Jive was just fan-flippin-tastic – and that includes seriously rocking that dress. Chelsie might be too sweet to be that fierce. And that ain’t no jive talkin’. 😉

Courtney: Now as fierce as both these ladies look in this sparkler, I’ve gotten give it to Nicole – she just slightly out-fierces Chelsie with that fabulous hair flip. That jive was seriously awesome – and Tina herself sure knows how to rock a gold fringe dress!

The winner: Nicole, by a Tina Turner ‘tude

Battle of the hot pink, cut-out ballgown with matching gloves: Kym’s foxtrot with David in season 8 vs. Melissa’s preseason photo shoot with Mark in season 9

Courtney: This gown is just adorable – reminds me so much of Marilyn Monroe’s dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes…which is why I think it looks so cute on both of these lovely blonde ladies 😉 Love Melissa’s 40’s-esque finger waves, but I also love Kym’s tighter curls. In the end, though, I just have to give this one to Kym – while I don’t particularly remember David well that season (except for his rather embarrassing exit speech), I do remember Kym just working it in this foxtrot, and this dress just sparkling away as she moved. Therefore, I must give this one to our favorite Aussie blonde 😀

Heidi: They both do look awesome. But when you mention Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, it made me think of Marlee Matalin’s dance with Derek, Mark, Fabian Sanchez and Genya Mazo and I ran to check the video. Nah. Not the same dress as Marlee. 😉 ANYway, I have to give it to Kym too – that body is hard to beat and I just like her personality better anyway.

The winner: Kym, for being the Aussie answer to Marilyn herself!

Battle of the itty-bitty, coral one-sleeve Latin dress: Edyta’s cha-cha with Jason in season 6 vs. Julianne’s pro dance with Derek to Jennifer Hudson in season 7

Heidi: That Julianne had the guts to wear a dress AFTER Edyta wore it – well, I have to hand it to her. Girl is brave. Of course she works it just as well as Edyta, so why not? I like it better with Julianne’s coloring, I think.

Courtney: This has got to be one of the TINIEST costumes I’ve ever seen on the show – and that’s saying something, considering that Edyta is, to quote Lawrence Taylor “allergic to clothes”, hehe. Not that I blame Edyta at all – as I’ve said before, if I had a body that fabulous, you’d have to put me in a nudist colony, because I would be naked ALL THE TIME. However, this dress looks too much to me like many of the others Edyta has worn, while the look is a little more surprising on Julianne – the coral looks surprisingly flattering on her. So kudos to Julianne for out-Edytaing Edyta!

The winner: Julianne for bravery. 😉

Battle of the yellow & orange overdye Latin dress: Julianne’s salsa with Cody in season 7 vs. Lisa’s quickstep with Mayo in the new pro contest in season 8

Courtney: I found it very, very strange that they opted to put Lisa in a Latin dress to do a quickstep – I guess they were trying to fit the whole “Walking on Sunshine” theme with the colors of the dress. But it just looks so mismatched up to Mayo – he’s so covered & dark and she’s so…bare. And I hate that shaggy haircut of hers – I feel like it totally obscures her face. Now Julianne, on the other hand, is just an absolute delight in this dress – can you believe this was only about a week after her appendectomy?!

Heidi: Girlfriend did one hell of a jive with Derek a week after her appendectomy, so yes, I can believe it. 😉 This one is kind of a toss up for me – Lisa cut off the tail of the dress and the colors look better with her tan, but her hair and her overinflated lips get me every time. Love Julianne, but she added a huge flower up near the shoulder that I can’t get behind, plus it took me a minute or two to figure out that the tail of the dress was wrapped around her right leg. Don’t know what she’s got around her left ankle. Anyway, I guess I find the flower and the tail less egregious than the hair and the lips. 😉

The winner: Julianne, for normal lips.

Battle of the fringed, zebra-print Latin dress: Mel B’s jive with Maks in season 5 vs. Lacey’s preseason photo shoot in season 7

Heidi: I kind of find this dress awful. And Lacey didn’t follow the “take one thing off” rule before she left the house. 😉 That said, I like it better on her because of the gloves and the red hair. Add in that I am SO NOT a Mel fan and well….Lacey wins. 😉

Courtney: Another dress I just don’t particularly care for – looks like something off the sale rack at Wet Seal. However, I do think it fits both ladies’ feisty personalities well. I guess I’ll go with Lacey – the streaks of red in her hair offer a nice pop of color to offset the black & white in the dress.

The winner: Lacey…just barely. This dress sucks.

Battle of the red, cut-out, ruffly Latin dress: Shannon’s mambo with Derek in season 6 vs. Kym’s preseason photo shoot in season 7

Courtney: Wow, this batch is really a mixed bag for me – I’m either loving or hating these dresses. This, unfortunately falls into the latter category – BLECH. Am I the only one that thought that Shannon looked terribly awkward in almost every costume they put her in? Aggghhh, and that hair – looks like they were trying to style it like her ex-husband’s (look him up – Joe Reitman. Eek!) Kym does a decent job of making a crappy dress look acceptable, so I’ll go with her.

Heidi: I think Shannon WAS awkward in a lot of the dresses. This one is funny because she had lots of padding in the bra AND in the butt, and she wasn’t afraid to tell EVERYONE. It made all the media that week very entertaining, especially when Derek is pulling down the back of her dress to show reporters and she then proceeds to rip his shirt open. And to think they tried to tell people they were just friends. Um, right. 😉 I also have to give it up to Derek for once again attempting a camouflage (with all those ruffles) a lack of hip action. Despite me enjoying this dress on Shannon for all the backstage reasons, it’s pretty clear that Kym just wears it better. The confidence will get you every time. I bet Kym didn’t need the padding either. 😉

The winner: Duh, Kym! Even though this dress sucks too. 😉

Pssst! First time here? Then you should definitely check out parts I, II, III, & IV of our “Who Wore it Better?” series! 😀

Seeing as there was a little confusion as to how I make these comparisons/predictions here’s a quick recap of the process.

I take a look at scores of previous celebs in accordance to the professional they danced with and then narrowed that down to specific dances that a pro has done with past celebs. (Example: If Chelsie and Jake were dancing the Argentine Tango tomorrow, the scores I would use are all previous celebs that have danced the Argentine Tango with Chelsie in past seasons).

Now if there are not enough scores to make any kind of reasonable assumption then I look back to various celebs that have danced that particular dance that is closest to this season’s celeb (in regards to primary profession) and add those scores to the prediction (Example: with Jake Pavelka I would use past reality stars as a basis).

Pamela Anderson/Damian Whitewood – Slow Waltz
– Since Damian is a new pro I looked to various celebs that have danced the Waltz and are known primarily as a television actor (normally I would have done past Playboy models, but there weren’t any available)
Season 9: (Melissa Joan Hart/Mark Ballas, Week 6): 20/30
Season 4: (Ian Ziering/Cheryl Burke, Week 4): 24/30
Season 3: (Joey Lawrence/Edyta Sliwinska, Week 4): 27/30
Season 3: (Mario Lopez/Karina Smirnoff, Week 8): 28/30
Season 2: (Lisa Rinna/Louis van Amstel, Week 1): 19/30
Prediction: 23/30

Evan Lysacek/Anna Trebunskaya – Argentine Tango
– Since Anna has not danced the Argentine Tango with a celeb before I had to use data from previous celebs that are Olympians that have danced the Argentine Tango
Season 9: (Louie Vito/Chelsie Hightower, Week 5): 22/30
Season 8: (Shawn Johnson/Mark Ballas, Week 10): 30/30
Prediction: 27/30

For the team dances I’ve decided to provide for you the scores the celebs have received for the Cha Cha they have done, and if they have not done the Cha Cha yet (looking at Evan and Nicole) I’ve provided the scores for the other Latin dances instead.

In regards to the team dances, I believe that Team Gaga will have the edge in regards to scores… this would undoubtedly help Chad since to me Chad and Niecy would be in the bottom two this week with Niecy going home (though I wouldn’t be surprised if Chad is swapped with Pamela).

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)